SnowLoadCheck

Thurston County, NE Roof Snow Load - 20 psf

What ASCE 7 says about snow load in Thurston County

Moderate
20 psf

That's Thurston County's design roof snow load per ASCE 7-22, for a typical heated single-family home - the number a permit reviewer starts from. Flat and low-pitch roofs in Thurston County are actually governed by ASCE 7's §7.3.4 minimum of 20 psf, not the 17.5 psf the ground-load formula alone would produce.

Converted to something you can actually eyeball on a roof: about 44 in. of fresh powder, 16 in. once it settles and packs down, or just 4 in. if it's turned to ice. Modern-code homes carry a load like this without issue; an older addition, a carport, or any flat-roofed section is where it is worth checking first.

Thurston County at a glance

Where Thurston County's figure sits nationally

Out of 2,758 rated US counties, Thurston County sits at #1,179, the top 43% nationally - #50 of 93 within Nebraska. 20.2 psf is Nebraska's typical county figure - Thurston County comes in 0.2 psf under it.

Near 42.1541°N 96.5339°W, FIPS 31173: Thurston County counts 6,637 residents and a 25 psf map value, which the code's own factors turn into 20 psf.

How much it actually snows in Thurston County

Most winters bring Thurston County roughly 32.2 in. of snow - NOAA's normal at WALTHILL 1E, NE US, 3 mi off. (fresh vs. packed vs. ice explains why.)

Read this before you rely on it

Thurston County's number above is ASCE 7-22's default case, not a custom calculation: ordinary residential occupancy, heated, sited on ground that's neither fully sheltered nor fully exposed. Any one of those changing - pitch, exposure, heating, occupancy - moves the real figure.

Nothing here substitutes for an address-level number. Get one free, in about a minute, from the ASCE 7 Hazard Tool using your own coordinates rather than Thurston County's county-wide figure. (How this figure is calculated.)